In recent years, as a mobile terminal device, a mobile phone reading out function names etc. set by a key operation corresponding to such a key operation has been proposed (see for example Patent Document 1).
This mobile phone has a plurality of key operation units, a control unit for setting functions corresponding to the key operations among a plurality of functions provided in the phone according to one or more key operations of the key operation units, and a text-to-speech unit for outputting by audio the function names set linked with the key operations.
This mobile phone only converts a retrieval result of a speed dialing memory to audio information for transmission to the user in response to a key operation. The information provided by the audio is basically sequentially output and not listed up. Therefore, it is difficult for the user to pick up and delete fields and acquire the audio information according to the degree of importance. There is therefore the disadvantage that the so-called readout function cannot be efficiently utilized.
As a terminal device having the audio output function described above, an information output device preventing an operator (user) from erroneous recognition of information when converting news, advertisements, and other text having a set amount of meaning to audio for reproduction and output is known. Further, a text readout device designed to shorten the time for checking required mail from among mail read out by the mail readout device is known.
The former information output device is a device reading out the information stored in an information storage from a predetermined read position to audio for reproduction and output. When a read start position of the information is determined by an instruction by a play-backward button, a read out control unit moves to a first break position before the determined read position of the information, while when the read start position of the information is determined by instruction by a fast forward button, it moves the determined read start position of the information to the first break position after it, so as to thereby finally determine the read start position of the information.
When the latter text readout device accesses a data processing system from the phone to read out mail, first the headers of the mails are sequentially output by the text-to-speech unit. The user registers senders or subjects or both as skip conditions in a skip condition holder for unnecessary mail. Thereafter, when reading the headers, a skip condition judger judges the conditions so that the mail meeting the skip conditions are not read. Further, when required mail is found, its text is output by the text-to-speech unit in response to an instruction.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication (A) No. 11-252216